Who would you become if comfort wasn’t the goal? That question sits at the heart of this powerful conversation with Audley Stephenson — host of The Audacious Living Podcast and author of the upcoming book Living Your Best Audacious Life: How Unleashing Your Inner Greatness Can Change the World (releasing spring 2026).

Audley brings a grounded perspective on courage, identity, and intentional living. Growing up around substance abuse without ever using himself, he watched his mother transform her life — reshaping his understanding of resilience, mercy, and choice. What emerged wasn’t bravado but audacity practiced daily.

Ryan and Audley explore storytelling, fatherhood, failure, leadership, and the B.O.L.D. framework — a philosophy built on progress, truth, and disrupting the patterns that keep people stuck.

This isn’t about fixing your past.
It’s about refusing to stay where you are.

👉 Connect with Audley:
• Website: https://www.bestaudaciouslife.com/ — home of The Audacious Living Podcast + resources
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theaudman/ — audacity, storytelling & insights from Audley

🎙️ “You can’t stay there.”

This is not an interview—it’s a reckoning.
Ryan Penley sits down with his father, Wade Penley, for a raw, unfiltered conversation about addiction, responsibility, forgiveness, and the long road back to each other.

Wade shares his journey through decades of substance abuse, false starts in recovery, and the moment he realized he couldn’t build a new life while clinging to old patterns. Together, father and son confront the generational impact of addiction—and what it actually takes to break the cycle.

• 🔥 Rock-bottom honesty and the cost of avoidance
• 🔄 Breaking generational cycles instead of repeating them
• 🧠 Self-inventory, ownership, and radical responsibility
• 🤝 Forgiveness without minimizing the past
• 🌱 Turning pain into purpose through recovery and service
• ✝️ The role of faith, timing, and humility in real change

This episode is for anyone in recovery, anyone carrying family wounds, or anyone quietly wondering if healing is still possible.

It is.

Check out my pops on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/wade.penley

Addiction doesn’t always look reckless. Sometimes it looks rational.
Fast relief. Low cost. Immediate results.

What rarely gets talked about is what happens over time — the dependence, the identity loss, and the long road back to clarity.

In this republished conversation, I sit down with D.E. Foster of Uneven Life to unpack the realities most people never hear about. We get honest about benzo dependence and withdrawal, why intelligent people fall into addiction, and why denial can quietly steal years — even decades — from someone’s life.

This episode isn’t about fear-mongering or labels. It’s about truth, awareness, and what it actually takes to rebuild when the thing that once “worked” starts taking everything.

We cover:

• Why addiction often makes sense at first — especially for smart people
• The overlooked reality of benzo dependence and withdrawal
• Whether benzo withdrawal is worse than opiates
• How addiction slowly erodes identity
• Why honesty is the real turning point toward freedom

If you or someone you love is navigating anxiety meds, dependence, or the aftermath of withdrawal, this conversation offers clarity, validation, and hope.

Learn more about D.E. Foster’s work here:
👉 https://www.unevenlife.com